Red Cross auto show canceled, postponed to 2010

Organizers have canceled this year’s debut of a premier car show benefiting the American Red Cross of Ventura County, citing logistical difficulties.

Red Cross CEO Chris Johnson said he had hoped to raise $100,000 from the show of world-class and rare automobiles originally set for Oct. 11 at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks. The cash would have helped offset a projected budget shortfall of close to $300,000 in the disaster relief agency, he said.

But officials from the Red Cross, the club and community members decided they needed more time to put on a high-level show. They postponed the debut to Oct. 10, 2010.

“We’re giving it the time it really needed,” Johnson said.

Among the issues were getting parking permits approved and lining up corporate sponsorships in a dismal fundraising environment, he said.

Billed as the Concourse d’Elegance, the show is patterned after one of the same name held annually in Pebble Beach. The Pebble Beach show has raised more than $12 million for charity since it was started in 1950.

Johnson said many people expressed an interest in the local event after organizers announced their plans two months ago. A month later, though, show officials agreed to the delay to ensure the show’s long-term success.

“We weren’t stopping it because it was going to fail,” Johnson said. “We stopped it because we wanted it to be successful for years to come.”

The car show was planned on the same weekend as the county Red Cross’ sixth annual Clara Barton Awards Dinner and Gala. That dinner will be held Oct. 10 at the country club as planned.

The Red Cross will honor three Ventura County women at the dinner: psychologist Priscilla L. Partridge de Garcia of Camarillo, humanitarian of the year; Ventura businesswoman Kathy Hartley, philanthropist of the year; and Thousand Oaks nurse Lesley Whitehouse, lifesaver of the year.

Tickets to the event are $195 each. To make a reservation or for additional information, call 987-1514.

Johnson said revenues for the nonprofit agency’s operating budget of $1.8 million are probably off 15 percent to 20 percent. Contributions are down, as was the distribution from an endowment fund managed by the Ventura County Community Foundation, he said. The foundation cut distributions this year, citing the uncertain picture in the stock market.

“There’s no economic upturn for nonprofits yet,” Johnson said. “We’re still struggling in that regard.”